Show me your gravelbikes....inspire me.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by GOTHBROOKS

i dont think the handjob does anything. does the fork have fender mounts? seems kinda silly to have an integrated one in the back and none in the front.

nope. its an enve cx fork.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by charliedid

The handjob is nostalgia, the bike is cool.

https://www.bikerumor.com/2017/09/04...ike-prototype/

according to bike rumor - it is indeed a removable fender mount...

bike does look cool, i like it.

[mistermo]

Originally Posted by joosttx

nope. its an enve cx fork.

I just got a frame too. Am considering swapping the ENVE fork for the Whisky fork that is also flat mount, PLUS fender mount.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

https://www.bikerumor.com/2017/09/04...ike-prototype/

according to bike rumor - it is indeed a removable fender mount...

bike does look cool, i like it.

Wow good call, I stand corrected. Still nostalgia ;-)

[GOTHBROOKS]

doesnt come with those enve grd fenders? im not gonna lose any sleep over it, but a fender mullet is super bizarre.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by GOTHBROOKS

doesnt come with those enve grd fenders? im not gonna lose any sleep over it, but a fender mullet is super bizarre.

nope.

[joosttx]

dirty bike

[geordanh]

Love it. This is really cool. I've been curious to see one of these out in the wild. Looks like a great ride!

Originally Posted by Wayne77

Apologies, this post came out more like a review. Lots of pics too...probably too many.

New gravel sled below. I'm going all in on gravel this year. I'll still do some road races, but competitive Gravel is lighting a new passion for me. I never buy bikes brand new but my local shop sold me on the new Norco Search XR after several test rides. I really like everything about it (except for the occasional crank arm strike when I take it through single track much more technical than I was willing to try on my old CX bike). It has a slightly lower BB than my old CX bike. Also I'm not sold on the flat mount brakes. They seem a lot harder to align than the post mount calipers I've had in the past. They do look cleaner though and maybe they brake a little better.

It doesn't have as much SOUL as so many other amazing builds in this thread but so far I'm impressed. I bought this for competitive gravel races like The Crusher. Clearance for 650B 2.1" mtb tires and with 700c wheels it will take up to 45mm tires. Norco did a great shop with the build. The only after-thought part is the stem (which I replaced with a Deda only because I needed a slightly longer stem (I have ape arms). Everything else is pretty solid, especially for the price. WTB i23 wheels / DT 350 hubs, Force1, Easton CF flared bar, a VERY nice KS LEV dropper post, etc etc. Wheels pictured are ENVE M60 / DT 250 hubs. I'll be using the ENVE wheels with 47mm Byway tires for competitive gravel. When its muddy, snowy, more technical, or when I want to tool around in the mountains I'll swap the Enve wheels for the stock WTB wheels with Maxxis 2.1" mtb tires.

Other things I really like:

- Dropper post. I wasn't sure about this one, but now that I've used it...game changer. I love it! I take this on a lot of single track and it is SOO much easier to navigate tight switch back descents. Also, descending fast & loose gravel roads the lower CG feels quite a bit safer. I get more into mtb mode where if I have to I can unclip Perfect example - the Crusher race - descending the Col de Crush. Super dicey. The dropper is triggered by the left shift lever (apparently a minor mod). The shifter internals are included in a little bag, in case you ever want to change the left shifter back to being able to trigger a front der.
- 5 water bottle mounts. (2 in the triangle, 1 under the DT and 1 on each fork leg.
- Hidden fender/rack mounts
- This is my first 1X clutch drive train. Bumpy single track and washboard no longer sounds like my bike is going to rattle to pieces. Just a very solid, quiet ride. No chains and derailleurs bouncing everywhere.
- Could be in my head, but the frame a little more compliant than I expected a CF frame to be. Might be the curved & flattened seat stays. With the ENVE M60 wheels especially I can rail through some pretty rocky single track. Still plenty bumpy, but there's just not as much wheel deflection as I get with my 700c aluminum wheels so things feel pretty secure and it feels like I can hold a line better. Maybe the 650B size helps...

[geordanh]

Originally Posted by mikemowbz

*Just built*, fresh out of the stand on onto the road - and the gnarliest gravel alleys of East Vancouver -my Lynskey Cooper 650b gravel build. Love it!

[IMG]DSC01126 by Mike Mowbz, on Flickr[/IMG]

Lol. Also in east van, and just bought a lynskey cooper. I can't fit horizons in mine though!

Totally different chain stay design. Weird. I like yours better. I was counting on being able to run 650b as I'd seen at least on earlier versions that you could run it. Oh well. The price was right.

[Wayne77]

Originally Posted by geordanh

Love it. This is really cool. I've been curious to see one of these out in the wild. Looks like a great ride!

Thanks... my first foray into this segment. Still have a lot to learn, especially if I start to get into the whole ‘adventure biking’ thing.

[sandyrs]

I don’t fully get the Hakka MX excitement. The fork makes no sense and the rest of the bike seems almost generic at this point with the rash of other dropped chainstay bikes coming out, but I guess the T47 bottom bracket is different? I’m sure they are fun to ride but I’m having a hard time seeing how it’s that much of a standout compared to the open up, norco search xr, rondo ruut, etc.

[bshell]

I took a spin (15-20min) on a Hakka prototype last summer but it had 650b on it (@2" tires?). I don't currently find any appeal in a drop bar 650b format for my riding interests but hoped to be enlightened by those riding it in the 700c configuration. Just wondered if it was more fun as a CX (subjective, I know).

[choke]

Originally Posted by sandyrs

I don’t fully get the Hakka MX excitement. The fork makes no sense and the rest of the bike seems almost generic at this point with the rash of other dropped chainstay bikes coming out, but I guess the T47 bottom bracket is different? I’m sure they are fun to ride but I’m having a hard time seeing how it’s that much of a standout compared to the open up, norco search xr, rondo ruut, etc.

You're not alone....I don't get it either.

[Wayne77]

Originally Posted by sandyrs

I don’t fully get the Hakka MX excitement. The fork makes no sense and the rest of the bike seems almost generic at this point with the rash of other dropped chainstay bikes coming out, but I guess the T47 bottom bracket is different? I’m sure they are fun to ride but I’m having a hard time seeing how it’s that much of a standout compared to the open up, norco search xr, rondo ruut, etc.

My take is that, however you feel about the Hakka aesthetics and the inconsistency between flat mount rear and post mount rear, I think is GREAT to see additional options in this segment of huge tire clearance gravel bikes (previously dominated by pricey options like the Open U.P., 3T Exploro, etc). the Hakka MX is another great option (along with others like the Norco Search XR) if you want a bike that can run 650B 2.1" mtb tires for rougher terrain, 47mm Horizons for gravel, or 700c/28mm road wheels. The more options available the merrier. I think this is a pretty cool segment within the larger gravel bike realm. Seems to offer additional flexibility with very little downside.

I funded one of these big clearance gravel bikes by selling a road bike and Trek traditional CX bike. (I still have true race for road races) and if anything I feel like the huge 650B clearance gives me MORE flexibility than I had with the two separate bikes. I have three disc wheelsets I switch between...which is also possible on the Hakka: 700c 28mm (road), 650B with 47mm Byway (gravel races), 650B with 2.1" Maxxis mtb tires for single track. You could do that with one wheelset, but I hate switching tubeless tires.

I'm getting OT again, but now that the dust has settled, I have 2 bikes. A true road race bike and a gravel bike. That setup ticks every box for me and I have no desire to expand the fleet. The only gaps being a fat bike and a real mtb...but those are segments that aren't appealing to me.

[mistermo]

Originally Posted by sandyrs

I don’t fully get the Hakka MX excitement. The fork makes no sense and the rest of the bike seems almost generic at this point with the rash of other dropped chainstay bikes coming out, but I guess the T47 bottom bracket is different? I’m sure they are fun to ride but I’m having a hard time seeing how it’s that much of a standout compared to the open up, norco search xr, rondo ruut, etc.

I'd agree with you if there's was truly a "rash" of other dropped chainstay bikes. I REALLY like the Open UP and 3T Xploro, but the price is leagues above the Hakka MX. The Norco seems like a nice bike, but the brand is kind of blah. I didn't know anything about Rondo Ruut. Apart from these, I don't know of any other dropped cs bikes. An ENVE disc fork is a good thing, even if it hasn't yet adopted flat mounts. What other carbon bikes/frames are out there w/ dropped chainstays, threaded BBs, room for big tires, and flatmounts, that are $2K or less?